PREVIOUS CHAMPIONS & FACTSSri Lanka won the T20 World Cup in 2014 beating India in the final# This year’s International Cricket Council (ICC) Twenty20 (T20) World Cup will be held from 17 October to 14 November in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman with the participation of 16 countries. There will be a total number of 45 matches# The previous champions are India (Year 2007 / Hosts South Africa / Runner-up Pakistan), Pakistan (Year 2009 / Hosts England / Runner-up Sri Lanka), England (Year 2010 / Hosts West Indies / Runner-up Australia), West Indies (Year 2012 / Hosts Sri Lanka / Runner-up Sri Lanka), Sri Lanka (Year 2014 / Hosts Bangladesh / Runner-up India), West Indies (Year 2016 / Hosts India / Runner-up England)# The event has generally been held every two years# In May 2016, the ICC put forward the idea of having a tournament in 2018, with South Africa being the possible host# But at the conclusion of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, the ICC dropped the idea of the 2018 edition# The seventh edition of the ICC T20 World Cup was to be held in Australia last year (2020) but was postponed till 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic# Now in next year (2022), the eighth edition of the T20 World Cup is scheduled to be hosted by Australia# The idea of having the tournament in 2021, after a lapse of five year, emerged last year with the hosts being India# However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic in India, the matches were later relocated to the UAE and Oman# The tournament will now be played at four venues in the Middle East – Dubai International Stadium in Dubai, Oman Cricket Academy in Muscat, Oman, Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah, and Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi# Hosts India and seven other top teams in the MRF Tyres-sponsored ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings as of 31 December 2018 got direct entries# The top eight in those rankings were placed directly in the Super 12s and the next two – Sri Lanka and Bangladesh – are to join six other teams coming through a Qualifier event in the group stage# Two teams each from the group stage, consisting of four teams each, will join the eight direct entrants to complete the Super 12s line-up# If Sri Lanka and Bangladesh qualify from the first round, they will retain the seedings of A1 and B1 respectively for the Super 12s# The top two teams from each group of six, from the Super 12s, will make the knockouts or semi-finals, the match-ups being – A1 v B2 and B2 v A1Sri Lanka before the 2012 final in Colombo where they lost the second back-to-back T20 World Cup final, this time against West IndiesHIGHLIGHTS# Australia will open their campaign in the T20 World Cup 2021 against South Africa in the first game of the Super 12 stage at the Abu Dhabi Stadium on Saturday, 23 October# Australia, who have won the ICC Men’s Cricket (50-over) World Cup five times out of 12, but are yet to win a T20 World Cup title, are grouped with England, South Africa, and the West Indies along with two yet-to-be-determined qualifiers this time# Australia will play archrivals England on Saturday, 30 October at the Dubai International Stadium followed by West Indies on 6 November at the Abu Dhabi International Stadium# In the third edition of the tournament held in 2010, England defeated Australia in the final in Barbados, winning their first ICC global event# Australia last played England in the T20I format almost 12 months ago, losing a three-game series 2-1 in the UK# The two teams have met each other on 20 occasions before, since June 2005# England have won eight times whilst Australia won on 10 times. One match was abandoned and another one ended without a result, both in 2009# India will take on their archrivals Pakistan on Sunday, 24 October in Dubai# The two countries last met each other in March 2016 in Kolkata, when India won by six wickets# The two teams have met so far on eight times, with India winning on six times and Pakistan only once, with their first meeting in T20Is in 2007 ending in a tie# Abu Dhabi will be the venue of the first semi-final on Wednesday, 10 November while the other semi-final will be on Thursday, 11 November# All day-matches are scheduled for 2 p.m. local time or 3.30 p.m. Sri Lanka Time (Middle East Time is minus one-and-half hours of Sri Lanka Time) and the day-night matches are slated for 6 p.m. local time, or 7.30 p.m. Sri Lanka Time# The grand finals of the tournament will be played at the Dubai International Stadium at 6 p.m. local time, or 7.30 p.m. Sri Lanka Time, on Sunday, 14 November 2021THE GROUPINGS:Round 1Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, the Netherlands, and NamibiaGroup B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, and Oman(Top two teams from each group advance to Super 12s)Super 12sGroup 1: England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, A1 and B2. Group 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, A2 and B1. (Top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals)COMPLETE SCHEDULE:Round 1(All times in Sri Lanka Time)* Sunday, 17 Oct: Oman v Papua Ne

Source: The Nation August 18, 2021 18:56 UTC